More than a thousand students, parents, and leaders attended the Silver Ring Thing event in Amarillo last year to learn more about saving sex until marriage.

Jake Schroeder, Associate Youth Director at First Presbyterian Church, wants to double that number this year.

Schroeder has been with First Presbyterian Church, located at 1100 S. Harrison St., for a year and a half. He said he is passionate about the outreach ministry offered at Silver Ring Thing and said he would love to see every seat in the Amarillo Civic Center Complex Auditorium filled starting at 7 p.m. Feb. 24.

A Silver Ring Thing event challenges teenagers and young adults with the value of purity and abstaining from sex until marriage and has hosted more than 1,200 events worldwide reaching nearly 650,000 people.

According to Schroeder, about 15 area churches and organizations have joined forces to make the free community-wide concert-style event come together in Amarillo.

A team of 12 young adults will take the lead the night of Silver Ring Thing and will do an “incredible job” of handling a super awkward subject and making it relevant, Schroeder said.

Schroeder said the team is not far removed from the target age group — mostly middle and high school students — and will use testimony, videos, funny spoofs, crazy lights and loud music to reach those in attendance.

Schroeder said the event will be an opportunity for students to see how their lives can be changed, and purity rings will be available for purchase at $20 each the night of the event.

A parents’ session will run from 7 p.m. until 7:45 p.m. and will provide multiple resources regarding abstinence, communication and the dangers of premarital sex, according to Schroeder.